Julie Urista Professor Tyler Young Texas Government 02, July 2021 Police Brutality in America Police brutality has been in the news more and more. George Floyd was the turning point in were we held the police officer accountable for his actions. It has always been a controversial topic and I think it’s because we hold officer’s superior to us, if they tell us to do something we do it. To the ones that do not listen they end up getting hurt and we see it as well they didn’t listen. We assume that officers know what’s best and know the law but they can abuse that power and hurt people. In the article “Relatives of Texans killed by police hope Derek Chauvin’s conviction will advance the state’s George Floyd Act” by Jolie McCullough in The Texas Tribune. thetexastribune.com. April 23,2021. Web. Debby Bush had a nephew in San Antonio who was shot by an off-duty officer. Her nephew Marquise Jones was only 23 at the time he was involved with a fender bender in a restaurant drive thru. Mr. Jones ran from the scene and got shot in his back, but the police officer said he had a gun, and some say he didn’t. Not too long after the officer was cleared and remains being an officer. When people have guns and notify the officer, they seem to get defensive and worry of their safety but why is it okay for us to feel safe when they have a gun. Being an African American male in this country is very difficult and the news and media always have cases on how they were killed. Mrs. Bush had gone on a protest when the Black Lives Matter protest happened cause of what had happened in 2014 with her nephew, she hoped the officer that was involved with what happened to her. She said in a rally “We’re dying every day in these streets from the police, and nothing is being done to the police.” Debby and other reform activists felt the ground shift under their feet when Derek Chauvin was found guilty of murder. We all hope she finds peace and that officer is held accountable. According to The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America in the article “Risk of being killed by police use of force in the United States by age, race-ethnicity, and sex” by Frank Edwards, Hedwig Lee, and Michael Esposito. August 5,2019. pnas.org. Web. Stated that’s Police violence is a leading death for young men in the United States. It also says in every 1,000 black men can expect to be killed by police. The ages are in between 20 to 35 years old for all racial and ethnic groups, but Black women and men and American Indian and Alaska Native women and men are significantly more likely than white women and men to be killed by police. Latino men are more at risk then white men as well. This would presume that these cases could be racially charged that is racial injustice. People shouldn’t be judged on their race it isn’t a reason to hurt someone and the justice system needs to see that because it’s a very bad issue that we still continue to face. I feel like we should lengthen the process to become an officer and have more psych evaluations and extensive background checks. We should see their morals if they are going to serve and protect us. No one deserves to be mistreated, most of us see police as intimidating and nobody wants to go to jail so they get scared and when people get scared, they run especially because there have been so many cases of people dying. So many of these cases have happened that everyone is tired of it and we are going to stand up for what’s right. Police brutality should have more consequences I know these officers put their lives on the line every day to serve and protect but they shouldn’t be using it against innocent people it is sending a bad message to our future generations. Most children nowadays are scared of police I haven’t seen any kids that when they grow up, they want to be an officer. We should reform our legal system and everyone and I mean everyone should be held accountable and be punished if any wrongdoing was done. We are a great country, and we should strive for a better future and that will only work with a steady foundation. I hope we find a solution and overcome this they are here to protect us no one should be scared of their life when a cop is around.
